title: Quality of life in patients with chordomas/chondrosarcomas during treatment with proton beam therapy.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Health-related quality of life (HQL) parameters have never been tested in patients having chondromas/chondrosarcomas who are being treated with protons. The aim of this study was to document changes in HQL of chordoma/chondrosarcoma patients treated with proton beam radiotherapy. Treatments commenced in September 2011 at CNAO, and HQL studies were initiated in January 2012 for all patients undergoing treatment.
  
  
  METHODS
  The validated Italian translation of the EORTC QLQ-C30 version 3.0 was used for HQL evaluation. The HQL assessments were made prior to starting radiation and at completion of treatment. Scoring was as per the EORTC manual. As per standard norms, a difference of >10 points in the mean scores was taken to be clinically meaningful.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Between January and September 2012, 17 patients diagnosed with chordoma or chondrosarcoma, with a mean ± SD age of 49.5 ± 16.4 years, had completed treatment. The involved sites were skull base (n = 12) and sacral/paraspinal (n = 5). The prescribed dose was 70-74 GyE at 2 GyE per fraction, 5 days/week. When comparing pre- and post-treatment scores, neither a clinically meaningful nor a statistically significant change was documented.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  During treatment, HQL is not adversely affected by protons, allowing normal life despite the long course of treatment. This is an ongoing study and more long-term assessment will help evaluate the actual impact of proton therapy on HQL for these slow-responding tumours.
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiation Oncology, Medanta the Medicity, Sector 38, Gurgaon 122001, Haryana, India. anurita_04@yahoo.com
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Srivastava
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Vischioni
authors.forename: M R
authors.initials: MR
authors.lastname: Fiore
authors.forename: V
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Vitolo
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Fossati
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Iannalfi
authors.forename: J K L
authors.initials: JK
authors.lastname: Tuan
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Orecchia
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D002813:Chondrosarcoma / Q000523:psychology / Q000532:radiotherapy*; D002817:Chordoma / Q000523:psychology / Q000532:radiotherapy*; D002986:Clinical Trials as Topic; D005221:Fatigue; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D061766:Proton Therapy / Q000009:adverse effects; D011788:Quality of Life; D012888:Skull Neoplasms / Q000532:radiotherapy; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: chondrosarcoma; chordoma; proton beam therapy; quality of life